minpinmom

Hey guys, I am so glad I found this biker forum - I didn't know how or where to ask this - I am hoping you guys can answer it for me. My hubby just got a bike, we are, hopefully going to pick it up next week. It is a 99 Suzuki Intruder (800). My question is: my hubby wants me to ride on the back and I am scared to death that I am too heavy and it will bend or break the back part of the bike. I, am too scared to tell him this, so I keep telling him I am SCARED to RIDE! Which, I am sure he knows is crap, because I rode street legal dirt bikes all through high-school. I weigh 241. Be honest, I would rather get the truth here than on the road somewhere.

I haven't seen my surgeon in probably a year - I have a fill that is as close to perfect as I can get. I am one of the odd ones that my band is super tight in the morning - I can only have liquids for breakfast - for lunch I can eat a few bites, but only a really small amount, then at about 6:30 it is a free for all, I can eat anything in any amount. If my band is any tighter, I foam, any loser I can eat more for lunch - so Im at the best spot I can get. Breakfast I usually have milk, sometimes a protein drink, I have no hunger until around 2-3. For lunch I either do a soup at hand (love those), or ham/cheese slices, something small, usually under 200 calories, I do a similar snack later (nuts, fruit, yogurt), before supper. Then for supper I eat like I did before banded - whatever everyone else is having - I have it too. I try to eat healthier than I used to - but most of the time - its not healthy. That is why I maintain, but don't lose anymore. I stopped trying to lose about a year ago and have maintained without working at it. I am happy where I am - I didn't want to live the rest of my life worrying about every thing I put in my mouth and how many calories it has. I can do that in short spurts, but not forever. Thank God I can maintain without trying!!! I am hoping to get motivated after the holidays and get everyone I know to go on a 3 month weight loss sprint - I would like to lose some more and see if I can maintain it too!

I really can't believe it has been a year since I updated my blog - but now that I feel pretty "normal" thinking of the lapband isn't something I do very often. I am still no where NEAR skinny - but I can shop in normal stores and I don't feel huge anymore. I am pretty happy with myself! I would love to lose 25 more pounds - but as it is - I maintain my weight and I don't have to worry or think about what I am eating - nor do I have to exercise. I hope to get back to working out - I felt better when I did. I know it is all about priorities and mine are just focused on enjoying life. I do have a fab announcement - I got a Spyder! I got my license and go everywhere on it. Love my bike! Hope all is well in bandland!

As I get closer and closer to being banded, there are so many things that start worrying the mind. I have read on this board so many stories of friends and family members being negative about Lapband. I decided I wanted to write a letter, ok, who the hell writes letters, I want to send an email to my friends and family explaining what is going on. Here is what I have so far, let me know if you think I am giving too much info, or not enough. Well, my 3 year wait is over – I have finally been approved for Lapband surgery. I wanted to send an email to everyone, explaining what the procedure is, what to expect and what not to expect. Feel free to ask any questions. Lapband is an outpatient surgery that places a silicone band around the top part of your stomach. The band is inflated/deflated “a fill” with saline through a “port” that is accessed (by needle) around your belly area. This surgery is completely reversible and has <1% complications. I will be home recovering for about 3 days. My surgeon is Dr. Felix Spiegel. He is the MOST experienced surgeon in the United States; he has done more than 5000 Lapband procedures and is very well respected. I am extremely lucky that he is in my network. People fly in from all over the world to have him perform their surgery and he is right here in Houston. Here is his website if you would like to see his information. http://www.felixspiegelmd.com/index.asp The Lapband is NOT a miracle; it is a TOOL, it allows you to feel full faster and keeps you from eating as much. However, if you don’t follow the rules, you can gain weight on the Lapband, just as without it. The nerves of your stomach are at the very top. So when we eat, you fill your stomach all the way to the top before you feel full. The band will hold the food at the top and have a small opening where the food will slowly disperse into the lower stomach, so not only do you feel full faster, but you stay full longer. For the majority of people, this surgery enables them to loose weight, but it does not work for everyone. Thankfully the band can be removed in minutes in an out-patient procedure if needed. I hope it won’t be needed. When I have the surgery, I will be on liquids while my body is healing and the stomach is swollen from surgery. Once the swelling goes down, I will be able to eat anything for a couple of months. The band will not be inflated, so there won’t be any restriction – Restriction is when the band is inflated and helps hold the food at the top of the stomach. Sometimes it takes 6 fills or more before your restriction is to a point where it helps control your hunger. So there may not be much change in my weight or eating for many months. There are 3 stages of eating following surgery. Liquids Following surgery, the Dr. doesn’t want the stomach to have to process anything. It is freaking out because it has a band around it. The band is stitched into place and after a while it creates a “place” for the band to sit. If you eat solid foods or take huge bites, it could move the band while it is supposed to be healing. Mushy Foods Instead of going from Liquids to solid foods, they have a mushy stage so that your stomach has time to adapt to everything. Also, since you won’t be very hungry following surgery and your stomach is still swollen, this allows you to consume more calories and promote healing. Solid Foods Finally, I will begin introducing normal foods again. Some people have problems tolerating certain foods after surgery, others don’t. Tough meats, nuts, dried fruit, soft breads and pastas are normally the culprits. Once I have proper restriction, you will notice that I won’t be able to eat very much at one time. Usually ½ a cup is normal for a banded person. Because I won’t be eating as much, I will have to eat a lot of Protein. Since I will get full fast, I am supposed to eat Protein first, then everything else. So, for all you people that I go out to eat with all the time – I am going to start eating off your plate! Ha! Also, I will be taking very tiny bites and chewing forever! A couple of other things you may notice, I won’t be able to drink with my meal – that is going to be so odd and I will be taking small bites. This surgery does not cause any type of starvation, malnutrition, or vitamin deficiency. I will be able to eat everything from before; I will just want less of it. The typical banded person eats 1200 calories a day, which is what anyone is supposed to eat. Bad foods, such as fast foods, fried foods, sweets, shakes and such, go right through the band with no problem, so there is always room for failure. This surgery usually results in loosing 70% of your excess weight. I have done so much research on this procedure; I think I could give classes on it. My favorite place to browse is http://www.lapbandtalk.com/index.php this website is devoted completely to Lapband. It is a great place for information. I have started an online Blog to document my experiences. Feel free to check it out. http://lapbandtalk.com/journal.php?do=showjournal&j=936 Hopefully next time I see you guys, I will be happily banded!

Here are my scars, right after surgery and 2 days later.

Hey there Band World - it has been so long since I posted on here. Things are going great - I finally lost all the weight I had gained during the un-fill for the gallbladder surgery. Took FOREVER, but I am back to my lowest weight. To tell you the truth - I am pretty darn happy! I still want to lose about 20lbs more - which is not nearly what the Dr.s would like me to lose - but I want to be in the 100s and that will get me there with enough room to spare for ups and downs. I still love my band - it doesn't work like everyone elses - I can't eat foods for breakfast ever - only liquids - for lunch sometimes real food - sometime liquids and supper is a free for all - I can eat anything in any amount. But you know what - it helps me keep from eating horrible all the time like I used to. But I can really still eat anything I want. Hope all is going well and I will post more updates soon!